


The Man the World Knows

by Malind



Category: Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Angst, Bondage and Discipline, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, M/M, Mentions of President Shinra, Orgasm Delay/Denial
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-12
Updated: 2014-07-12
Packaged: 2018-05-18 07:55:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5908918
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Malind/pseuds/Malind
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rufus had told him Sephiroth wanted to see him, but Zack had no clue why the meeting had to take place high in the Shin-Ra tower, in the 'war room'.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Man the World Knows

**Author's Note:**

> Timeline: this story takes place towards the beginning of the game, between the mission with Tseng (the mission Sephiroth refuses to go on) and a week or two before the mission with Sephiroth, assuming there's some time between the two.
> 
> This story has two chapters.
> 
> The Final Fantasy VII universe and characters are owned by Square Enix. I make no profit from this fanficion.

** Chapter 1: The Evils Eroding the World **

 

"Hm? Sephiroth?" An odd smirk grew at the name, as Rufus leafed through a newspaper.

The other man's expression only made Zack's uneasiness increase. Rufus had called him up to the top floors of Shin-Ra headquarters, saying that Sephiroth had wanted to speak to him. Now the man seemed to be giving him the runaround.

"You said he wanted to see me, Sir?"

Finally, Rufus looked up at him, the smirk turning into a smile but, oddly enough, the smile put Zack more on edge than the smirk had. Perhaps it was because he could tell the man was completely enjoying something, probably at Zack's expense. His suspicions were already high since the first hint that something was up had been the man calling him upstairs in the first place. The president's son rarely took an interest in the lower ranking SOLDIERs. SOLDIER was Lazard's business.

"Yeah, I did say that." Folding up the paper, the president's son shifted his feet off of the couch he'd been reclining on and tossed the newspaper where his legs had been. "He's in my father's, err, war room. Would you like me to show you the way? I assume you haven't been up here before."

"Ah, yeah, if you could? I-I don't know where it is."

"Sure, follow me." The man stood up and walked ahead of him. "I heard you two met already? Sephiroth, I mean." When Zack merely hummed an affirmative, Rufus turned his head, looking back at him, grinning. "Tseng told me you said we spoil our great General too much."

Zack's mouth hung open for a moment, his careless words coming back to bite him. It wasn't the first time. "Ah, yeah, I mean, I took a mission for him."

"I know." Rufus looked back ahead and turned a corner, leading him to a stairway. Out of the blue, he said, "I believe a man should know why he's laying his life down for another. Don't you think?"

"Yeah, I guess." Zack frowned at the idea, and then said truthfully, "But... it's also a soldier's -duty- to lay down their life. Sometimes there isn't time to ask why."

"True. But given the opportunity, knowledge is always preferable."

"Yeah, sure..." He didn't know where the conversation was headed and he wasn't sure if he wanted to know. Rich and privileged, Rufus just seemed too assured and too, well, high on himself that Zack doubted the man was capable of a well-informed understanding of a 'normal' person's life.

When they reached the floor above, they walked down another couple of hallways until they reached the far corner of the floor. Zack frowned when the man dug out a ring of keys. Most of the locked rooms in the headquarters were opened by a keypad. Rufus quickly found the right keys and unlocked three different locks, but didn't open the door. As Rufus did this, Zack looked around, trying to distract himself and noticed the video camera pointed right at the door.

"When you're finished here, let me know, so I can lock it back up. I'll be where I was."

"Yeah, of course." Zack watched the blonde man walk away and turn a corner. He blew out a huff of air, glad the conversation was over. That man had far too many hidden motives. Despite what Rufus had said, he doubted he'd ever know the full truth if he had to lay down his life for the president's son.

The raven-haired man knocked on the door, figuring Rufus didn't open it for a reason. But there was no answering voice or other indication of a person being inside. Cautiously, he opened the door and peeked inside.

One-half of the room was dark, his side. The other side was lit by a couple of lamps on the far wall. Couches and chairs littered the ground, positioned in front of tables and other chairs that appeared to have nothing to do with meetings. Not with the strategically placed straps, hooks, and joints that allowed them to be manipulated. In the middle of the room, in front of a long, comfortable looking couch, a glass decorative wall spread out almost ten feet. The glass appeared to be thick and was frosted, but he could still make out a shape of a man on the other side of it, in the middle. The man appeared to have his arms raised. At the bottom of the wall, there was a space between the floor and the metal frame containing the glass. There, he could see two bare feet and lower calves.

After closing the door behind himself, Zack's steps were hesitant at first, but as he came to the conclusion that it was indeed a man and tall enough to be Sephiroth, the man stalked across to the middle of the room, avoiding the obstacles, and to the other side of the glass wall. What he saw there caught his breath in his throat and stopped him midstride.

Sephiroth stood there, naked, a slight gleam of sweat glowing in the dim light. Leather cuffs restrained the man's long arms, arms that sagged slightly, showing that his legs were taking most of his weight. Angry red marks lashed his legs, arms, and probably his back since Zack could see the same lines curving around. All of them were red against his pale skin, but some of them were obviously older than others. The man had an eternal erection due to the black cock ring at the base. The thing was engorged, purplish-red, and painful looking.

Slitted eyes looked at Zack, Sephiroth's breathing harsh. There was a surprise in them. Surely Zack wasn't the man the General had expected.

The look bolted Zack into action. He rushed at the man, struggling with a cuff before he realized the thing had been padlocked shut. Panicking, he moved to check the other side and accidentally hit the other man's engorged cock. Sephiroth hissed in a breath, his whole body suddenly tense.

"Oh my god, I'm sorry."

Sephiroth's head had dropped at the words, so Zack grabbed the man's chin, trying to get him to look at him, trying to avoid the thing between them which took some navigating with its length. White hair was plastered against Sephiroth's face, partially concealing it.

"Sephiroth, are you okay? Look, I'm going to get a knife or something to cut you out."

"No!"

The single word startled him. It was a demand, an order. He looked into the older man's eyes and was shocked at what he found there. He saw lust, pain, fear, yes, but also acceptance. It dawned on him that Sephiroth was there willingly.

"Good god, what..." Zack's breathing came in pants, just like Sephiroth's. He looked down the man again, unable to really help it. With each jagged breath, the other man's erection bobbed. The color only seemed worse that close up. It couldn't be good for the man's health. Zack looked back up. "At least let me take that thing off."

Sephiroth didn't respond. Eyes closed, he seemed lost in some kind of hell. With trembling fingers, Zack reached and gently fingered the base of the man's cock. He realized the thing was rubber and had probably been rolled on. At the touches, Sephiroth whimpered, a sound so unlike a General of Shin-Ra's army. Trying to avoid white pubic hair, slowly, Zack rolled the rubber up. Each movement sent the other man's body shuddering and his breath hissing.

Finally, when the ring fell to the floor, both men let out a collective moan. At that point, Zack's own cock was aching in sympathy. Slowly, a more normal color shifted onto the nonetheless hard erection. Still, the General seemed to be in pain. How long had he been standing there like that, aching to come but unable to do it?

As if the other man had heard his mind, Sephiroth feebly ground his hips, hitting nothing but air. The back of his head hit the wall and he growled his frustration while biting his bottom lip. This time, Sephiroth met his eyes with no fight. There was a begging there and it made Zack's breath heavy for a completely different reason than feeling sympathetic pain.

Zack placed a hand on Sephiroth's grinding hip, stilling it. He looked back down at the erection between them and hesitantly stroked his fingers over the top.

Sephiroth's reaction was instantaneous. His hips jutted to meet the fingers. Under his breath, he hissed, "Please."

Still unsure, but losing his train of thought in his own lust, Zack slid his fingers underneath, gaining a hold. Then he pumped his commander's erection, a man he barely knew. Sephiroth's hips thrust against his hands.

"Please..... Please.  God." Sephiroth pushed his upper body away from the wall and claimed the younger man's mouth. He kissed Zack with a passion Zack had never experienced before. This erotic man was so, so not the General.

Zack kissed back, unable to help it, lost in his own desire. Within a couple of minutes, though, he felt jutting wetness splatter on his forearm. Sephiroth moaned into his mouth with each tensing of his body as he came. When the man's mouth stopped moving, Zack pulled away.

Dizziness swarmed his head. He felt like he was hyperventilating. He looked down and saw the creamy cum on his arm and some on his clothing.

After a moment, with a voice much more commanding than Zack felt over his own body at that moment, Sephiroth stated, "Put it back on."

The raven-haired man jerked his gaze back to Sephiroth, trying to figure out what he was talking about.

"The ring. Put it back on and leave."

Zack gawked at the man, confused despite the simplicity of the words.

"Do it."

The younger man bent down, picked up the piece of rubber, and, after a quick look to Sephiroth's unyielding eyes, he worked it back on the man's erection. When he hit the base, he stepped back because of the man's sudden coldness. Even padlocked to a wall, naked, covered in sweat, the General had a presence.

When the other man only stared, Zack started to walk away and then found his booted feet moving as quickly as when he'd first tried to save the other man. After a quick cleaning trip to the bathroom, that couldn't completely remove the stains on his black clothing, he stalked back downstairs to the waiting president's son.

When the blonde man saw him, he smiled up at Zack. "The elusive Sephiroth... So, do you still think he's spoiled?" Rufus put down the newspaper once again. He appeared to be almost done with it. "I do hope you learned something today."

Zack wanted to say, 'Yeah, I've learned what fucking sick place this is.' Instead, he merely stared at the other man, clenching fists, clenching his whole body, in fact.

"You know, he's been Shin-Ra's whore for years now. But this is the first time he's actually asked for it. He must be feeling really fucking guilty if he's begging for my father's dick in him." Rufus laughed at the words and walked past Zack, a ring of keys clinking in his hand. "Keep it up, Mr. Fair. I see First Class in your future."

Zack could only fight the urge to throw up.

 

 

** Chapter 2: Offering of Love for the World **

 

His ascent of the inn's stairs complete, Zack turned the corner and his steps faltered. Sephiroth stood at the window, the fading sunlight making the man's white hair glow red as if it was on fire.

The other man was rarely so still. Quiet, yes, but rarely still. Had Sephiroth ever merely watched the growing dusk? Of course, maybe he did. Admitting it to himself, Zack didn't really know. After all, he'd spent limited time in the General's presence. And the time he had spent with him usually involved some new horror they confronted without hesitation. Beyond that, Sephiroth was barely by his side.

Zack tried to suppress his body's reaction as he reminded himself that he _had_ seen him this still before. The memory formed a different kind of horror in his mind.

Looking at him now, at Sephiroth's motionless, Zack couldn't help but remember those few minutes of time: The way the older man had stood against the wall, probably not even counting the minutes, torturing himself willingly. The first class SOLDIER now had no doubt that Sephiroth could have broken free had he wanted to. Easily. There was little that could contain the General.

However, worse than the mere occasional remembrance was the fact that Zack knew he'd never be able to forget the man's naked, needy body. It was permanently etched into his mind.

Worse than that was the fact that time had dulled Zack's mind over the horror of it, making it more, well, engrossing than it'd been at the time when he'd been wholly mortified. Well, not completely mortified. He still remembered his own hardness as he'd pumped the man's erection.

...This was no way to see the man who commanded him, but the younger man really couldn't help it.

Zack shook his head, trying but failing to banish the memories and etchings from his mind yet again. Nevertheless, he started forward again until he stood next to Sephiroth. The other man didn't pay him any heed.

Sephiroth had never seemed bothered by the event, knowing that Zack knew what happened behind closed doors, well, at least knew some of it.  Sephiroth, in fact, acted like it'd never happened. And Zack told himself yet again that he should just forget about it.

Trying to draw his mind away from his own irrationality, Zack murmured, "What are you looking at?"

The other man seemed more aware of the question than of the man who spoke it, when Sephiroth said, a darkness in his voice, "This landscape... I could swear I've seen it before."

The SOLDIER looked out the window as well, trying to see whatever Sephiroth saw. It reminded him of any other little town he'd traveled to. Buildings were buildings and people were people no matter where he went. Usually.

Zack turned his head back and looked Sephiroth over, remembering what was hidden behind layers of armor. No wonder the man wore so much, even in blinding heat. If his own body had held the number of scars Sephiroth's did, he'd hide it too. People's inquiries would get dull after a while.

When he looked back up at Sephiroth's face, he sucked in his breath when he realized the older man was looking right at him with a frown.

Caught in the act, Zack blurted out, "Ah, sorry, I'll, ah, leave you alone now."

Sephiroth's frown increased, giving Zack the definite urge to run. He was about to take a retreating step when the other man stated, "I didn't ask you to leave."

Zack blinked, unsure whether or not he should take the words the way he would have taken them at any other time. But then he mentally kicked himself a bit, trying to not make it obvious in his face. Sephiroth was as human as any other person. The man obviously cared about others as Zack did. They'd both lost Angeal. Sephiroth had lost Genesis as well. Perhaps he needed someone to talk to.

Reeling in his fear and unwanted lust, Zack murmured back, "Hey, if you want me to stay, of course, I will."

"That isn't what I meant." However, despite the words, the small smile Sephiroth gave him told Zack he was probably on the right track. "This time is yours to do with as you wish."

Then the taller man looked back out the window, obviously not expecting him to stay. When Zack realized he himself wasn't moving, was instead watching the other man, he wasn't surprised when Sephiroth looked back at him. The man's cat-like eyes flickered over Zack's face before the older man finally looked towards the floor. Sephiroth's mouth opened but no words came out.

 _Walk away, just walk away_ , Zack told himself, but his body wasn't listening for some stupid reason.

Finally, Sephiroth looked him in the eye and muttered, "Zack, you should leave."

With the words, Zack no longer wanted to leave. At all. After all, the words weren't an order. They were a begging for Zack's soul to remain free of the horrors Sephiroth's soul knew. They left his heart hammering. Their eyes remained locked, Sephiroth obviously waiting for him to back down and walk away.

When he didn't, as the moments passed and Zack's breathing quickened and his length began to harden at Sephiroth's growing intensity, Sephiroth said quietly, "Zack, if you have any desire to do so, you should walk away right now."

The words rushed instant heat through his body. Zack couldn't doubt, could barely conceal the hardness at his own groin. Luckily his pants were a bit baggy.

Sephiroth smirked at him, which did little to calm him down. "If this is how you want to spend your time off, so be it."

The general walked around him and to a far door, the room with a single bed. Zack watched after him, wondering if he'd instantly become Sephiroth's punching bag for his frustrations and anger towards the world. When he realized he didn't mind the idea so much, he followed after and into the bedroom, closing the door.

Zack barely having time to put his own sword on the ground, Sephiroth was waiting just inside and wasted no time shoving Zack against the door, knocking the wind out of him a bit.

Looking up at the white-haired man wide-eyed, Zack had before come to the conclusion that the other man would be more docile, considering how he'd found him before. Now, Sephiroth pinned him with his eyes, as much as with his hand at his shoulder. The taller man's other hand wandered carelessly, slowly, taking time they probably didn't have. Then again, Sephiroth was the commander. They had as much time as he said they did.

Eyes drifting shut, Zack merely stood there, loving the sensations of the other man's hard, caressing hand against his chest and, eventually, his waist. With one hand, Sephiroth unbuckled Zack's armor there, tossing it to the floor. Then the other man was pulling Zack's black shirt off, leaving his skin chilled and goose-bumped.

Sephiroth leaned forward and traced down Zack's neck with his lips, traced his shoulder, the top of his chest. The slowness was infuriating with the heat Zack felt in his body. This man seemed to be teasing him. Perhaps he was. In his fantasies, Zack had expected something far more violent, but now he had to wonder whether or not the General was making love to him. The idea made him groan all the more.

Finally, Zack couldn't stand the slow, wet caresses at his nipples, and then his stomach anymore, and pulled Sephiroth back up by his armor. He claimed the man's mouth and held tighter when Sephiroth instantly deepened the kiss. He pressed his body at the man as much as Sephiroth pressed at him, their bodies grinding together.

Just when Zack was sure he was about to come, Sephiroth suddenly stepped away from him and kneeled down, undoing Zack's pants in the motion. Zack blinked downwards, unbelieving, as the other man let his pants drop to his ankles and brought his underwear down to his upper thighs.

The tongue at the tip of Zack's aching erection made him suck in his breath. The back of his head hit the door with a dull thud as he tried to not thrust his hips, tried to not hyperventilate. Sephiroth sucked at the tip, just grazing it with his teeth. Zack bit his bottom lip, still trying with every muscle in his body to not thrust. Then Sephiroth took more of the length in, sucking it, licking it, bringing Zack to shudder with every scrapping of his teeth. Zack tried not to think how Sephiroth had gained his talents. Hopefully, there was a better explanation for them than President Shinra.

Sephiroth worked more and more of him in until he felt the man's nose at his groin. The other man had no problem taking the whole length, the tip edging down his throat. Zack wanted to beg him to have some mercy, to move a bit faster. Fucking hell, it was so damn slow, and he was too young and inexperienced to take it this slow.

Zack looked down, about to say as much, but when he saw Sephiroth's face, he couldn't do it. With the man's cat-like eyes closed, he looked so unbelievably beautiful slowly taking his length in and out of his mouth, as if he was enjoying every moment of it. Even with the slowness, the SOLDIER almost came from the sight of it.

Then Sephiroth's eyes opened, looking up at him, perhaps sensing his stare. Or perhaps because Zack had suddenly stopped being so damned tense. Unthinkingly, Zack took both of his hands and brushed them through Sephiroth's bangs, trying to see more of his face. The motions brought aquamarine eyes to close once again and he sped up his pace.

Unable to help it, Zack's hands wove into thick white locks of hair, gripped it, eventually making Sephiroth moan with him from the tightness of it. Soon, Zack took to fucking the other man's face, lost in the feelings of his body. Sephiroth didn't protest in the least and let his mouth be used.

By the time Zack was surely suffocating Sephiroth as much as he was letting him breathe, he gave one final push into his mouth and came deep in his throat. Moments later, he felt hands on his own hands and he instantly released the stranglehold he had on the General's hair. The older man sat back on his heels and looked up at him. Zack met the gaze, but could hardly keep his eyes open.

Then Sephiroth smiled up at him. "You look beautiful like this."

Zack tried to picture how he must have looked: shirt off, pants and underwear down, a gleam of sweat over his skin, his body trembling, trying to stay upright and only managing to do so because he was leaning against the door. Surely he was a sight, but it took him several moments before he could start to think of composing himself.

Instead, it was Sephiroth who stood up, pulled up his bottom halves up, helped him back into his shirt, and handed him his armor to put back on. As Zack did so, still in a bit of a daze, he watched Sephiroth walk away and look out the window at the far wall, back onto the scenery.

Was that it? Was he being dismissed? The other man's indifference couldn't really be taken as much else. Perhaps Sephiroth thought that was all he'd come for, to get off. Perhaps that was all the General was willing to do.

Weeks before, Zack had walked away, well, run would have been a better word for it. This time, he didn't want to move and wouldn't have moved, short of Sephiroth throwing him out the door.

This time, he walked up to Sephiroth, slowly, waiting for the other man to fight his approach. When he finally stood next to the other man's side, Sephiroth frowned down at him.

Unable to keep the gaze, Zack looked out the window. "I'm sorry, I just wanted..." What? He didn't know.

"I can't give you more, Zack."

Zack looked back at him, frowning himself. "Can't or won't?"

"Both."

"And if I took it?"

Sephiroth smirked at him. "You wouldn't dare."

"You sure about that?"

The General turned, facing him, bringing Zack's pulse to quicken again. Then the man smiled at him again. "You're not that kind of person." Sephiroth uncrossed his arms and used one hand to touch Zack's cheek. Zack couldn't help but lean into the touch. The man's smile deepened. "You see?"

"I just..."

"You just want more than I can give you right now."

"Right now?"

"We're on a mission, Zack."

The raven-haired man blinked at the words. "Oh yeah, you're right."

Sephiroth grinned at him and the expression heated Zack as much as anything else. "Later... okay?"

Zack nodded stupidly, and then was lost in the temporary heat of the other man's lips.


End file.
